Core drill



F. STONE CORE DRILL July 16,y 1929.

Filed Aug- 19. 1924 JE INVENTOR Patented Jdly 16, 1929.

UNITED ISTATES 1,720,700 PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK STONE, OF SANTA MARIA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO DOI-IENY-STONIEDRILL CO., OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

CORE DRILL.

Application led August 19, 1,924. Serial No. 732,98LREISSUED Myinvention relates to improvements in rotarydrilling equipment andmachinery for drilling or boring into the earth and retaining a core orsample of the mineral or earth drilled through and consists of any orall of the devices herein described.

The objects of the invention are: first, to provide a device for bothwashing out the hole previously drilled, or partly drilled, andpreserving and removing a core or sample of of the mineral or earthdrilled through; second, to provide a cutting bit so designed as topermit the circulating liuid to pass through its walls to, and acrossitsI face; third, to provide devices for retaining samples or core ofthe mineral or earth drilled through. It is an especial object of myinvention to provide a device in which the liquid is carried throughports separated from the core until a point very close to the bottom ofthe hole is reached when it is guided in such a way as to carry alldbris outward away 'from the core. g

I attain theseobjects by use of the device illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section assemblyof a double-tubepore barrel, a core retaining device and a cutting bit;

Fig. 2, an enlarged perspective view of a tapered split ring coreretaining device;

IFig. 3, an enlarged perspective View of a cutting bit of design;

Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged vertical perspective sections of novel typesof coreretaining devices, both of which may be substituted for the coreretaining device shown in conge'ction with the core barrel illustratedin 1g. 1. i

The term shell used in the following specifications and claims is to beconstrued to mean a tubular member forming a part of, and enclosing, thecore retaining device.

In the several views similar numerals refer to similar parts. e 1 is thecontinuation of the drill pipe or hollow rods to which the core barrelis attached and by which it is rotated. 2 is a coupling interveningbetween the drill pipe or hollow rod and the core barrel head 3, towhich it is attached by means or" threads 4. 7 indicates several portsprovided for conducting the' circulating fluid from chamber 5, formed bythe tubular construction of head 3, to the concentric, annular space 13between the outer tube 8 and the inner tube 12 of the core barrel, bothof which tubes are connected to head 3 by means lof threads 6 and 9respectively. ll is a port provided for the passage of the circulatingiuid .from chamber 5 to' the inner tubeV 12. l() is a ball valve forclosing port ll and diverting the circulating fluid through ports 7. 15is the earth or mineral through which the hole is being drilled. 16 is Aa cutting bit having inside lutes 17 and outside ilutes 23 and cuttingagents 22 (diamonds in the present instance), bit being attached to theouter tube 8 by means of threads 24. 18 is a tapered split ring retainedin an annular tapered recess 21 formed in the shell 25, the latter beingjoined to inner tube 12 by slip joint 36 and held in place by shoulder26 on the inner tube 12 and shoulder or bars 19 of the cutting bit 16.If during drilling operations the split ring' 18 should catch or bind onthe core 20, it will ordinarily remain stationary with the core, butshould it not, the Slip joint 36 will allow the shell 25 to remainstationary, thereby obviating likelihood of damage to either the core orcore lifter. 27 is a screen; 28, a-port or passage; and 29 a checkvalve, all provided for the escape'of circulating Huid from inner tube12 while the same is being filled with core 20. 23 and 30 are spiralflutes in the cutting bit 16 and head 3, respectively, provided for theupward passage of the circulating fluid.

The o eration of the core barrel and its attached evices, illustrated inFig. l, is as follows: The core barrel is rst assembled with ball 10removed and is lowered into the hole attachedV by means of coupling 2 toas many lengths of drill pipe or hollow rods 1 as may be necessary tobring the cutting bit 16 nearly to the bottom. The circulating fluid isapplied under pressure through the drill pipe or hollow rods 1 andforced directly through the head 3 and port 11 into the inner tube 12,thence through the cuttin bit 16 into the hole and back to the surface othe earth, washing the hole clear of dbris. The core barrel is l thenlowered until the cutting bit 16 has reached its drilling position andball 10 is dropped through the drill pipe or hollow rods 1, closing port11. The circulating fluid is inside flutes 17 in bit 16 and across theface of the bit, cooling it at the points most liable to damage fromheating, at the same time clearing away all cuttings from the face ofthe bit. The circulating fluid carrying the cuttings is forced throughthe outside flutes 23, space 14, between the outer tube 8 and thesurrounding earth 15, through outside spiral flutes 30 in head 3 andthence to the surface of the earth. It will be observed that thecirculating fluid during its downward passage in the core barrel doesnot come in contact with the core as it does in core barrels heretoforeused in which the circulating fluid passes directly along the core forat least a part of its length. Any of the circulating fiuid finding itsway into inner tube 12 from the face of the bit 16 is expelled throughscreen 27, passage 28 and check valve 29 as the core advances into saidtube. When the inner tube 12 is filled with core, the rotation isstopped and the core barrel raised. The upward motion of the core barreldraws the tapered shell 25 up over the tapered ring 18, contracting saidring which in turn clamps the core and holds it until it is removed atthe surface of the earth.

The core retaining device shown in Fig. 4 is novel as hereinafterclaimed and is also for use inthe core barrel illustrated in Fig. 1. 34is the shell' (given a new number because its design differs from thatof shell 25 above described) connected to inner tube 12 by slip joint 36and is held in place in the core barrel in the saine manner as that ofshell 25. The device has two wings or valves of which 32 is one, shownin full perspective tipped back against the wall of shell 34illustrating the position taken by both wings or valves when open. 31 isthe other Wing or valve indicating the position taken by both whenclosed. The wings or valves 31 and 32 are hinged to shell 34 at 35 sothat they will open concentrically against the inner wall of the shell34 for the reception of core or other objects, and

close on shoulder 33 to prevent the loss of the same. When open, thewings or valves will permit the reception of any objects that will passthrough .the orifice formed by shoulder 33, and when closed,thewillprevent the loss of any object, vhowever small, contained in thedevice. The principal useof this core retaining device is for recoveringfragments of core, samples of mud and sand, foreign objects and anythingthat could not be held in open types of core retaining devices. Itdiffers from the core retaining devices heretofore used in that it willreceive and retain both minute and large objects with equal facility.This device may also be' used as a bailer with a churn drill or as afoot valve on a pump.

Fig. 5 illustrates a modification of the core retaining device shown inconnection with the core barrel and is for use with a core barrel. Theoutstanding feature in the construction of this device is a solid ringsupported at one point so that by any upward motion of the core barrelor downward motion of the core a pivotal action is imparted to the ring,altering its vertical axis from that of the encircled core and bringingthe edges of the ring in contact with the core, with the result that thecore is fractured and clamped in the shell. This device is' particularlyuseful when drilling large diameter holes and when the resulting core isnot easily broken loose from the surrounding rock. 37 is an unbrokenring with rounded sides to permit tipping. 40 is the shell (given a newnumber because its construction differs from that of the previouslydescribed shells) connected with inner tube 12 by slip joint 36 and heldin place in thecore barrel in the same manner as that described abovefor shells 25 and 34. 39 is a shoulderforming a part of shell 40 andhaving a high point 38 for tipping the ring 37 as described above.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: y

1. The combination in rotary drills and equipment for drilling or boringinto the earth, of a double tube core barrel for taking samples or coreof the mineral or earth drilled through, said tubes of the core barrelhaving a fixed position relative to each other for simultaneousrotation, the inner tube of the -core barrel having a recessed portion,a free turning shell loosely mounted on the recessed portion of theinner tube of the core barrel, a core retainer'carried by the freeturning shell, a cutting bit sub-joined on the outer core barrel saidcutting bit having inwardly extending flanges on which the aforesaidfree turning shell is supported for free turning movement.

2. The combinationin rotary drills and equipment for drilling or boringinto the earth of a double tube core barrel for taking samples or coreof the mineral or earth drilled through, a common head to which thetubes of the core barrel are affixed for simultaneous rotative movement,a cutting bit subjoined to the outer tube of the double tube corebarrel, said cutting bit having spaced horizontal inwardly extendingflanges, the double tube core barrel having an annular channel betweenits tubes throughout their length to the cutting bitv to permit of thefree flow of water to the face of the cutting bit, and a free turninshell supported on the inwardly .extending anges of the cutting bit forfree turning movement independent both of the bit and of the inner tubeof the core barrel a core retainer carried by the free turning shell.

3. In a core drill, the combination of a double tube core barrel, a headto which both tubes of the core barrel are threaded for holding same infixed spaced relation firmly attached to and rotating with the headhaving the doubleA tube core barrel, an annular chamber between itstubes, the headhaving acentral passage, and having lateral portscommunicating with the aforesaid annular chamber, a shell sub-joined tothe inner tube and mounted for free rotative movement relative to theinner tube of the core barrel, said shell having a recessed portion, acore retaining device confined in the recess formed in said shell, and acutting bit mounted on the outer core barrel and having flanges posi--tioned to loosely support the aforesaid free turning shell.

4. The combination in rotary drills and equipment for drilling. orborlng into the earth, of a double tube core barrel for taking samplesor core of the mineral or earth drilled through, a head on which thetubes of the core barrel are affixed, said head having channels openinginto the annular space between the respective tubes, and having a valvein its head by Which the flow of the circulating Huid may be directedeither into the inner tube or into the annular space between the innertube and the outer tube and then directly to the face of the cuttingbit, a freely rotatable shell supported on the cutting bit and havingits upper end in contact with the lower end of the inner tube, said freeturning shell carrying a core engaging element, a cutting bit affixed tothe outer tube of said core barrel, said cutting bit having passages onits cutting face and having spiral grooves on its outer Wallscommunicating with said first mentioned passages for conducting thecirculating fluid directly across its cutting face.

FREDERICK STONE.

